- GILBERT BAYORAN
Three barangay captains in Negros Occidental, who were tagged by the National Bureau of Investigation as financier and protectors of illegal Small Town Lottery operations, were charged March 8, for violation of Republic Act 9287 before the City Prosecutor’s Office of Kabankalan City.
Based on testimonies of the arrested bet solicitors, NBI Bacolod chief, Atty. Renoir Baldovino, said that Noli Villarosa, barangay captain of Tangub in Bacolod City, served as the financier of illegal STL operations in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
Villarosa, however, strongly denied the allegations against him, stressing that he has no capacity to be a financier and that he is ready to resign from his post if proven that he is involved in the illegal STL operation.
Also charged for violation of RA 9287, which increases the penalties for illegal numbers games, were Joel Alibango and Franz Leonard Seguero, barangay captains of 5 and 6, respectively, in Kabankalan City, whom Baldovino tagged as protectors of the illegal STL operations in the city.
On Feb. 8, Baldovino said that Seguero called for a meeting with unauthorized STL bet collectors at the Barangay 6 covered court in Kabankalan City, that was also attended by Alibango and a certain “Ma’am”, whom he tagged as the manager.
It was explained during the meeting by the illegal STL operations manager that all bet solicitors will receive 15 percent share from bets that they can collect from bettors, and that they will be enrolled in the Social Security System and PhilHealth.
The illegal STL manager, whose real identity is still being established by the NBI, also told the bet solicitors that if they will be accosted, they will just tell that the financier is Noli Villarosa, Baldovino said.
Based on their investigations, the NBI Bacolod chief said that Villarosa, who met with barangay captains of Kabankalan City in January this year, tried to convince the bet solicitors that it is okay to operate STL in Kabankalan, since the authority to operate an STL outlet that was issued by the Philippines Charity Sweepstakes Office to Super Lucky Beagler Inc., will expire in February next year.
They were also promised by Villarosa of receiving shares from the STL operations that will be conducted in every barangay of Kabankalan, Baldovino said.
But Villarosa explained that his meeting with barangay captains in Kabankalan City has something to do with politics as he was there to discuss the creation of an unnamed partylist group.
Baldovino said that some barangay captains who attended the meeting are willing to give their statements, which will further bolster the criminal charges against the respondents./GB
